In-Home Personal Trainer Bury St Edmunds

Eating out without pigging out

If you are like me, then you enjoy going out to eat out. Its easy and tastes good (hopefully). In fact, almost any “special occassion” usually involves eating out. People see food as a great source of pleasure, so alot of the things we do for fun tend to revolve around eating. This is where so many diets and healthy eating regimes fall down. For the most part, and understandably, a restaurants’ focus will be on flavour and not necessarily how many calories, how much fat or the sugar content in a meal.

There are also times when you will be in the situation where the only, or most convenient places to eat, are those evil fast-food restaurants that you have been warned to avoid at all costs.

Now instead of telling you avoid burger king like the plague, or to take your own Tupperware packed chicken salad to Wagamama, I have come up with a list of some of the healthier, lower calorie options, that can be had at a few of the most popular fast-food places and restaurants in the country.

Burger King

Wetherspoons

Opt for: Superfood pasta at 471 calories, there is an option to add chicken breast for extra protein. Versus: pub classic, steak and kidney pudding at a huge 1147 calories

Prezzo

Opt for: Penne Arabbiata-light at 383 calories. The original isn’t too bad either at 503 calories. Versus: any of the calzones, which all hover around 1000 calories each.

Nando’s

Opt for: obvious choices would be there salads or maybe pittas. If you want to keep it classic, like i myself, with their piri-piri chicken then go for the butterfly chicken breast with a side of char-grilled veg at 405 calories. to cut that down even further, take off and don’t eat the chicken skin. Versus: quarter chicken breast and regular chips which totals 857 calories.

Frankie and Benny’s

Whilst they do not offer a full list of calories with the foods on their menu, they do offer a couple of lighter option. One of the lighter and perfectly reasonable choices would be to go with their lighter spaghetti bolognese at 365 calories.
From the main menu though, opt for: the chicken pitta, switching chips out for either a side of vegetables or salade. Versus: the huge, fat filled and calorie packed mixed grill.

Pizza Express

Opt for: pretty much anything from their Leggara range is going to be lower on the calories, they are all under 500. Versus: Pollo forza romana pizza at 984 calories.

Although a small list, hopefully it will enable you to make some better choices for your next visit to one of the restaurants.

If you want more of these types of posts, leave a comment and let me know which restaurant you would like to see included on my next list.

For more tips, info and to share this with your friends, head over to and like/share my facebook page